Immunizations for China
 

Can anyone tell me what shots, if any, are required for China.
Thank you

You really want to access the Center for Disease Control www.cdc.gov/travel for their recommendations. Some vaccines depend on where in the country you'll be traveling and how much contact you'll have with animals or swamps. We loved China --have a good time!

Note that nothing is required (unless you are coming from a yellow fever endemic country) but there are a number of immunizations it would be wise to have. The cdc website is considered the gold standard for travel medicine info. Print the info and take it with you when you visit your doctor or a travel med clinic.

Typhoid, Diphtheria, Rabies, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and of course, Tetanus and Polio should be up to date.
There are no ''required'' shots for China, unless, as Kathie has pointed out, you are travelling from a yellow fever area.

Rabies immunizations are only recommended in some circumstances.

Many of the immunizations Leigh lists you should have routinely just to stay at home. You should also have measles/mumps/rubella for overseas travel to third world counntries.

I strongly recommend a rabies vaccination for those traveling to the Guangxi province. (Did not find out exact town/village she was bitten in due to all the other details we were trying to get from her during the phone call...but know she was in Guilin, Yangshuo, Ping'an, Longshen) D was bitten by a dog while traveling over spring break and is now undergoing the rabies shot series back in Hangzhou.

The Dr. at the Hangzhou hospital said rabies is prevalent in the Guangxi province. The conditions in the hospital are not very sterile and in order to get a sterile syringe for the first dose, she purchased the newly arrived German vaccination where the doses/syringes are sealed. Cost 2.5x as much as the Chinese vaccine but worth the peace of mind.

I think all travelers would rather have the series given in their home towns vs. trying to get to a hospital and have the shots administered in China.

(D took her subsequent 5 doses back to her campus office where she will have a Dr. there administer them to her.)

So get vaccinated...chances are the cute puppy in the village is infected.

Mark, I'm so sorry to hear that your daughter got bitten by a dog in China. She's obviously a clear-headed and informed traveler and got herself to treament immediately, and it sounds like she opted to get Human immune globulin (the German-made medication) rather than what was locally available.

For others reading this thread, let me give just a bit if info about rabies and the rabies vaccine. Rabies vaccine is unlike other vaccines. It does not prevent you from contracting rabies if bitten by a rabid animal, but it does buy time to get treatment, and it means one does not need the immune globulin shot, just the rabies series post-exposure.

Rabies is 100% fatal once the symptoms appear - both for people and for animals. (For those of you who read medical news closely, you know there has been one exception: a Wisconsin girl who was exposed to a rabid bat... she received exceptional treatment as soon as she developed symptoms and has survived.) If you have not been vaccinated and are bitten, scratched, etc by a possibly rabid animal, you have about 24-36 hours to get treatment, beginning with an immune globulin shot. The human immune globulin is not available everywhere, and in many countries only an animal-derived immune globulin is available, which often causes severe reactions (better than dying of rabies, but quite uncomfortable nonetheless). A post-exposure rabies series of shots is also required.

If you have received the rabies vaccine series and are exposed to a potentially rabid animal, you have roughly twice the amount to time to get treatment, 48-72 hours, and you do not need the immune globulin shot, though you still need the post-exposure rabies series.

Considerations for whether to get the rabies vaccine:

1. If you are going to be working closely with animals (such as on a farm or a wild animal rescue or rehab facility) you should have the pre-exposure vaccine.

2. If you are going to an area with a high rate of rabies, you should consider it, based on first, your activities, and second, your distance from good medical treatment.

Examples: India has the highest incidence of human rabies in the world. Activities like bicycling increase your chances for rabies exposure. If you are going bicycling in India, you may want to get the rabies pre-exposure vaccine.

If you are going treking in Nepal (which also has a lot of rabies), and will be days away from medical facilities, you should seriously consider the vaccine.

Also, I think having med evac insurance is a good idea. I buy mine by the year, and it is quite inexpensive for buying peace of mind.

I've just summarized this info. For more complete information take a look at the cdc website, www.cdc.gov/travel You should consult with your travel medicine doctor as to whether to get the rabies pre-exposure vaccine.

Thsnk you Kathie for the information and for the clear explanation. We have been worried since it took her several days to get back to Hangzhou and to a medical facility. Is the series still effective given the fact she could not begin treatment right away?

Also if she is exposed again will she need the series again?

Thank you very much for your informative post.

marksfour at gmail dot com

You always want to get treatmenet as soon as possible. There are different ideas of how long is a "safe" period of time, what is important is that she sought treatment as soon as possible.

If she were to get exposed again, she would need the rabies series (but not the immune globulin). If, several years from now she were getting ready to travel again and wanted to know if she still had some protection, they could do a blood titer to see if she was still producing antibodies or whether she needed another pre=exposure series.

Dear Kathie,
Thank you for your invaluable information. You know your stuff and I have found your facts very reassuring.

Thank you for posting that information, I never considered getting a rabies vaccine and no doctor even mentioned it to me. But from what I saw in a brief look at the site, it is only one shot nowadays. I will rethink for the next Asia trip. Just in case there is a cute, sick puppy in my future!

I wish your daughter all the best. You, too.

The pre-exposure vaccine is 3 doses, day 1, day 7 and day 21 OR day 28.

Post-exposure vaccine (if not previously vaccinated) is a shot of rabies Immune Globulin on day 1, plus the 5 doses of the rabies vaccine on days 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28.

Post-exposure vaccine if previously vaccinated is 2 doese of the rabies vaccine, on days 1 and 3.

marksfour -- Sending best wishes for a speedy recovery to your DD, hope all turns out well!

Thanks Shanghainese :) It was unnerving but thanks to Kathie and others whom I have spoken with, we feel reassured.